Monday, July 26, 2010

Sometimes, Life Gives Me Hope

Waiting on my husband to get home from work, dinner ready to go as soon as he pulls up (Seashell spaghetti tonight), I decided to sit down and rest. I've been online today, but no where near the amount that I have in the past. Today was a "shut up and clean" day. I washed all the bedding (hung dry) and 3 loads of clothes. Beds made, clothes are ironed, folded/hung, and put in their correct spots, I cleaned the kitchen, dusted, and still need to vacuum. Eh, Matt manages a vacuum store, I'll have him demo his skills when he gets home.

So, back to that sitting and resting thing I mentioned! I pulled up Yahoo! News and came across this article. About a girl, who at the age of 9, was given a seedling. She took that seedling home, and what grew was nothing short of amazing. A 40lb cabbage. It's not the largest cabbage on record (according to the article, that's a 55lb one), but it's what this 9 year old did with it that brought a smile to my face. She donated her cabbage to the local soup kitchen. That cabbage (with the help of some ham and rice) helped feed almost 300 homeless people.

Now here is where the story got even better (and gives me hope for the future). Katie is now 11, and started her own charity. Because Katie believed that if she could feed 275 people with just one cabbage, what could she do with more? Her non-profit, Katies Crops, currently has 6 gardens that are grown exclusively to help those in need. One of her gardens is the size of her local schools football field. Volunteers, along with Katie and her family, take care of the gardens, giving out weekly vegetable baskets people who will benefit from them. At harvest time, they collect over 1,000lbs of crops and donate to the local soup kitchens.

The heart of this one little girl is big enough to think beyond herself. Her selflessness gives me hope.